Dallas Stars Blog

Final Thoughts on Stars 5, Sharks 4

Only those hoping for an 8-7 game could have left American Airlines Center feeling cheated on Thursday night.

Do you say the Stars lacked the killer instrict when they allowed San Jose to dust off from a 2-0 deficit and own a 4-2 lead late in the third period? Are the shortcomings of the second period and much of the third forgiven by the furious comeback that resulted in a 5-4 overtime win?

As has been the case for much of the young season, the Stars had to lean on the Richards line – namely Brad and James Neal, on this night – for much of its offense. Hey, this isn’t the first team to ride a lot line.

You do have to give a tip of the helmet to their tenacity, and that includes establishing a physical presence. Jamie Benn in another scuffle; what is he saying out there? And Richards earned a 10-minute misconduct.

This team will absorb bumps and bruises along the way. You know the margin between victory and defeat is so thin many nights. Just consider the number of disallowed goals on Thursday night. But they had every reason to skate out the final four minutes two goals down and didn’t.

Will Mike Ribeiro’s late-night heroics push him into a scoring surge? We’ll get a chance to see against Colorado on Saturday night, when the Stars take aim at their sixth consecutive home victory.